The purple that swirled from her fingertips had been hardly noticeable at first, weak and easily ignored in their tempest of emotions, but as it rose towards Emma's arms, it grew stronger, fuller, until both women noticed the energy intensifying, startling them out of the moment. Emma dropped her hands, and everything quickly faded. The haze of her previous thoughts vanishing, Regina panicked when she realized what exactly had happened—but more importantly, what it meant for their chances of getting back home. She snapped at Emma.
"Grab me again."
"What?" Emma was utterly confused. She had been preparing herself for a number of possible different reactions to what had happened, but this was not one of them.
"Do it!" Despite the intense vulnerability Emma had just seen, Mayor Mills was now fully back, her commanding persona in full force as she concentrated on Emma's arms.
Too bewildered to even consider not following the brunette's order, Emma reached up again, settling her palms on the soft skin she had just held.
"No!" Regina snarled at the gentle touch. "Like you did before! Feel it."
"Regina, I don't understand…" Before Emma could drop her arms, Regina had grabbed them, forcefully holding her in place.
"Your emotions. Between the two of us we can conjure enough magic, and I can find everything we need. Grab me like you mean it, feel whatever you were feeling before!"
Emma thought. She thought about what this meant for their getting home, about what would happen when they got there. She thought about how desperately she needed Regina to understand that she had meant what she said. She thought about how much she wanted to see that look from her again, about how much she wanted to help. She thought about how she needed her, how their ridiculous family was basically all she ever wanted, and she clutched tightly, trying to force it all through her fingertips and into Regina's skin, to have it be a part of her. The glow returned. Not as bright but getting there. Emma watched in awe as purple mist began to rise once again as Regina stared at her in concentration, and she couldn't help but wonder what emotions the Queen was drawing from.
This time, as the energy between them grew, neither backed away, and soon the white and the purple had melded into a sort of periwinkle, and it was difficult to tell from where it had came. Slowly, Regina began murmuring, and various objects around the room floated into the air and drew towards them, some falling away the closer they got, others moving faster. Regina was straining in concentration, and Emma could feel her drawing from her power. She could feel it all, really. It wasn't like triggering the hat. She could feel Regina's magic then, too, but they were focused on the object. Two forces working separately, side by side. This was…well, it wasn't just one of them or the other, it was theirs. It was incredibly intimate. If the situation hadn't been so dire and their feelings so fucked up, Emma would have cracked an awkward "two become one" joke, which in itself was awkward because why would she be thinking about Regina like that? But she was saved from her thoughts and the increasingly woozy feeling that was seeping through her veins when finally a small pouch and an hourglass dropped to their feet and Regina broke Emma's hold to pick them up. Emma was only somewhat shocked to find that she missed the connection.
She watched as the former mayor rose slowly, still graceful but clearly drained, likely both from the magic and the turmoil of their day.
"So, is that it?"
"Apparently."
"What is it?"
Regina eyed the pouch with suspicion. On its own it wasn't much, and it was quite light, but she could feel the powerful magic contained inside. She opened it to see what lay within and sighing, presented it to Emma.
"A single strand of spun gold. I should have known."
Emma looked from the bag where the gold caught the light back up to Regina. She was so lost and it showed. Regina spared her from having to ask when she continued, "Think back to your fairytales. My mother is the Miller's Daughter. This gold, this was her first escape."
"Really?" Emma's eyes went wide. "Cora is the Queen of Hearts and the girl rescued by Rumplestiltskin. Anything else? When we get back, could we please get one of the Enchanted Forest people to write a real history book? So this can be less confusing? I mean, isn't Rumplestiltskin supposed to get her baby? Or she beats him by guessing his name…Fuck, I never thought I'd have to pay more attention to fairy tales."
Surprisingly, Regina cracked a small smile, finding the blonde's confusion somewhat entertaining, her heightened sensitivity apparently responding just as well to amusement. Despite her easing, or perhaps because of it, she couldn't help replying, "You don't think he got me?"
Emma considered the woman standing before her. It had never occurred to her that that was exactly what happened. This world really was something else. This woman was something else.
Startled to find herself losing herself in the eyes of her former nemisis, she instead focused on the objects Regina was holding, something concrete—their way back.
"Well, that's it right? We can go home now?"
"Almost." Regina turned towards the wall they had come in from when Emma's words stopped her.
"Wait, what?"
She turned back to find the blonde still standing in the middle of the room, aghast.
Regina rolled her eyes, somewhat stunned to see how their dynamic had reverted to its usual state, the only evidence of their previous conversation a slight slump in their shoulders and an underlying gentleness that had not been there before.
"We can't exactly open up a portal in the middle of the castle, Emma. There's no controlling what comes with or who might see."
Sensing that it was not a matter of more questing or Regina pulling something over on her, Emma loosened a little. And then she noticed it. Regina had called her Emma. That was new. And nice. She tried an apologetic smile. "Right. Trying not to change history. Got it."
Regina could see the underlying regret in the blonde's eyes. And she was unnerved to find herself comforted by it. She tried to regain her indifference in her reply. "We only have to return to where we came through. Besides, it might help anchor our path back to our present."
"Okay." Emma simply smiled as she walked up to Regina's side and looked her in the eye.
"Let's go back home."
